There’s no extraordinary skill needed to be a strong question-asker; layer your knowledge on being prepared with a strong dose of assertiveness.

If you’re prepared with three or four, open-ended and strategic questions ahead of your meeting, you’ll be surprised at how assertive you will become in your meetings.

Pre-meeting preparation of questions forces you to think strategically about the holistic state of your progress on the account and with that specific buyer. What are the info gaps about the account you need filled? What type of personal commitment do you need from that buyer? ("Hey, can you introduce me to Bob?") And what about obstacles or objections: "In your eyes, what might derail this deal?"

If you write your questions in your notebook before the meeting, the chances of you asking them goes up exponentially!

After you ask, shut up and let the buyer talk!